Slower Rhythms || Dwell
Part 4 of 4 - check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here .
In January, I started this new [and very adult] journey to homeownership. I saw hunks of junk and remodeled houses. When I found my neighborhood, I started….well, basically….stalking every home with a “for sale” sign. And then I found it… “the” house. Mind you this neighborhood defines post-war, 1950’s suburbanization (that’s an architecture/history joke about how every house looks the same), but this one was THE one.
Of course, after the first showing, my real estate agent asked if I wanted to put in an offer. To which I quickly replied, “I want to think about it.”
Well, long story short, (as I think you might have guessed) I live here now - in my little “cottage.”
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Dwell (verb) - think, speak, or write in length about; live in or at a specific place
1 - When I think about God, I’ll find Truth in Him and His Word.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
--Psalm 91:1
Two weeks ago, I talked about abiding being a launching point for delighting and dwelling. Abiding created a foundation, while delighting continued to put abidance into practice. Dwelling basically combines the two by remembering (or thinking about) abidance and delight.
Here is what Paul says about thinking:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
--Philippians 4:8 [emphasis mine]
These “whatsoevers” are the very things God will reveal when we abide in Him or we delight in as a result of aligning with Him. But look again what He promises in Psalm 91 - if we “think on these things,” we will abide [accept or act in accordance] in Him.
Wait! What??? Did we just come full circle? No. Actually these aren't three circulating concept, but rather three concepts braided together.
When we take time to just think about God, we are processing Him. When we take this time to “think on these things,” He starts to reveal His Truth.
2 - When I see Him as a God that lives in a Holy Place, He lifts my lowly spirit and frees me from guilt.
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
--Isaiah 57:15
Heaven is hard to imagine sometimes - to think about the concept of eternity is too much for the human brain. The other things that overload us are His Divinity and Grace.
Part of dwelling is about living in a specific place. If we know and accept where God dwells, then Divinity and Grace seem to be a little more reasonable. When we accept that God is in a “Holy Place,” it makes sense that He is Divine. When we accept that God is Divine, it makes more sense that He wants to lift us up out of our valleys and set us free.
3 - When I have faith, Jesus lives in me.
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love
--Ephesians 3:17
We live in a world that tells you that you have to do something to be something. The world tells you that you have to work to earn what you want.
But Paul reminds us that all we need is faith. Faith is the moment of surrender that says, “I trust You.” And in that moment you invite Him to dwell [to live] in you. When you let Him dwell in your heart, He roots and grounds you in love [in delighting (man isn’t this twisted?!?)]. His love let’s him breath life back into the “depleted and dead places.”
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The world we live in celebrates busyness. It’s easy to get caught up in the “rat race” and charge forth full speed ahead. And when we do, life tends to get messy.
“Since my fast-paced chase had gotten me into this mess, I knew it would take slow moments to get me out of it. I needed to reconnect with the One who knows how to breath life and love back into depleted and dead places. Jesus doesn’t participate in the rat race. He’s into the slower rhythms of life, like abiding, delighting, and dwelling - all words that require us to trust Him with our place and our pace. Words used to describe us being with Him.”
--Lysa TerKeurst
You won’t find Jesus scurrying through the rat race nor beating His drum to set the pace at lightning speed. You’ll find Him beating His drum to the slower rhythms. He wants you to join Him there. It will be hard - it takes trust. But reconnecting with Him through abiding, delighting, and dwelling will allow your place and pace to be of Him (and not of the world).
Slow down.
Reconnect.
Trust.
